Culture Shock

By Amy Dalness

Its the Little Things, by April Park. Opening with a reception at Mariposa Gallery during the First Friday Arts Crawl.

First Friday

The First Friday in February brings art events galore. As with every first Friday of the month, Feb. 1, plays host to gallery openings and receptions all over the Duke City. The number of venues participating is too great to list here, so visit the Albuquerque Art Business Association's website (www.artscrawlabq.org) for full details. Most galleries will be open from 5 to 8 p.m. tonight and offer snacks, art and fine conversation.

Demo Time!

Two galleries are having super-nifty opportunities to see art made live on Friday, Feb. 1. The first is the Arts Alliance Gallery (1100 San Mateo NE), offering demonstrations by artists Ming Franz and Master Fei Pai Yeh coupled with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Franz (and some of her students) will delve into her innovative splash ink method, while Yeh will paint a celestial horse with Chinese black ink. Jorge Tristani's gravure prints are on display at the New Grounds Print Workshop and Gallery(3812 Central SE). He'll give a inside look at the gravure process—an image etched on the surface of a metal plate—starting at 6:30 p.m.

Artini Party

The VERB Collective (3400 Constitution NE, 268-2344) invites you—the artsy crowd—to its second annual Artini Party on Saturday, Feb. 2, starting at 7 p.m. The Artini Party features more than 100 tiny masterpieces (no larger than 3x5 inches) all up for auction plus a few high-class refreshments. Join the folks at the VERB in celebrating their first successful year of collaborative creativity.

Last Chance to Revolt

This is the last weekend of the 2008 Revolutions International Theatre Festival. Get out and see some theater, people! Dive into the online exclusive ”Eight Years of Revolution” or visit www.tricklock.com for more details.